Notable Combine Stories

Brodrick Bunkley, DT, Florida St.
• Continued to impress and after putting up 44 reps in the weight room he proceeded to run in the mid-4.9 range.

Haloti Ngata, DT, Oregon
• Did not run quite as well expected with a time in the 5.1 area but that is still pretty darn good for a guy who measured in at over 6-4 and 338 lbs.

Terna Nande, OLB, Miami (OH)
• Came through with the top performance in the bench press as he predicted with 41 reps of 22 lbs.

Manny Lawson, DE, North Carolina St.
• As expected he ran incredibly well and clocked a 4.41, which is amazing.

Vernon Davis, TE, Maryland
• Blazed and outstanding time in the forty, clocking in the high-4.3's to low-4.4's.

Marcedes Lewis, TE, U.C.L.A.
• Ran a Disappointing time in the 4.8 range as expected.

Vince Young Part II
• Upon further review Vince Young did not score a 6 on the Wonderlic after all. It has now come out that his initial test was scored wrong, but rather than just score it correctly they allowed him to take it again and he came through with a 16.

Chad Jackson, WR, Florida
• In just 4.32 seconds this guy made himself millions of dollars because that is the time he ran in the forty. Jackson also measured in at 6-0 and 213 lbs. and looked great in the receiver drills. He is now a likely first rounder who is on the rise in a big way.

Jay Cutler, QB, Vanderbilt
• Ran a 4.77 in the forty, looked good in passing drills, has done great in interviews and even put up an amazing 23 reps of 225 lbs. in the bench press. This guy just continues to impress and he could very easily be chosen before Vince Young. In fact, in my next mock (which is coming soon) I will have Cutler going to the New York Jets at #4.

Mike Kudla, DE, Ohio St.
• Just tied the Scotuing Combine record for reps of 225 lbs. at 45 and he was actually a little disappointed.

Offensive Linemen Who Impressed
• Don't think the big guys can't impress at this venue! Eric Winston of Miami (FL) ran a 4.94 and looked excellent in all the drills. Ohio St.'s Nick Mangold ran a 5.05 and also handled himself really well and is now in serious contention for round one. Marcus McNeill of Auburn ran a very impressive 5.07 at 336 pounds but the medical checks on his back will be the key for him. Winston Justice of Southern Cal did not run but took part in all the drills and did very well, showcasing his athleticism. Charles Spencer of Pitt also did well and looked very athletic and nimble for a guy who checked in at 352 pounds.

Running Back Results
• The first group of running backs worked out and Joseph Addai of L.S.U. (4.40), Maurice Drew of U.C.L.A. (4.39), and Andre Hall of South Florida (4.42) ran the best times. Wali Lundy of Virginia also impressed with both his speed (4.45) and ability in the drills. On the flip side Wisconsin's Brian Calhoun clocked a disappointing 4.60 and might slip just a bit.

The Big 4 RB's
• The top four running backs in the draft will not run the forty at the Combine with Reggie Bush, DeAngelo Williams, LenDale White and Laurence Maroney all choosing to sit it out. Didn't these guys learn anything from what Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams did a year ago?

Vince Young, QB, Texas
• There might be no bigger story coming out of this Combine than Young's Wonderlic score. Word is Young only managed a 6 out of 50, which is terrible no matter which way you slice it but when you factor in that quarterbacks are generally expected to register the highest scores and that the biggest question on Young beforehand was his ability to pick up and offense / read a pro defense this could spell disaster. To give you an idea of just how bad this score is just take a look at this study and you will see that for a top signal caller to do this poorly is literally unprecedented. There has been plenty of criticism of Young's representative, an inexperienced family friend, and this should being that talk to a fever pitch because Young should have been much better prepared to take such a crucial test. So how far might Young drop? It's still too early to tell but if Tennessee doesn't take him at #3 the next best options for him will probably be Oakland at #7, Detroit at #9 and Arizona at #10. We are talking millions and millions of dollars there folks and the concern over Young's ability to develop into a pro passer has just gone up ten-fold.